Forum - View topicShort Manga
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Dargonxtc
 Posts: 4463 Location: Nc5xd7+ スターダストの海洋 |
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Well my problem is 2 out of the 3 manga I am reading currently have not been finished and or released in the states yet. And it looks like it will be a long time before it all gets finished up. The one that is complete is 14 volumes, which is fine. But I was wondering if you guys could recommend a good manga that is say no more than 4 volumes or less that is complete and fully released in the states.
Yes I am impatient on things like this, I can't stand it might be years before I can finish the two stories I am on. When I go to the store I see all these volumes, but I have no way of knowing which are completely done. Yes I could write down the ones that look interesting and come check it out on ANN. But just because it looks interesting doesn't mean it will turn out to be good. So I figured I would ask the people in this forum and thier infinite wisdom. 
Oh and the reason I said a short one is because I am reading 3 already, and between this and my appetite for anime, well lets just say I have a budget. |
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darkhunter
 Posts: 2992 Location: Los Angelas |
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It would help if you we know what type of manga you're looking for.
Start off with what target of manga: Shonen (boy), Shojo (girl) or seinen (adult) And then what genre of manga like action, comedy, romance, scifi etc. If there's nothing in particular you're looking for, than, check out Planetes. A 4 volume scifi/drama seinen manga that revolve around the life and self-discovering of Hachimaki Hoshino and his crew mate, who are space garabe collector. It's a lot more interesting than it sounds and with a lot of "touching" moments. Better than the anime version. |
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Dargonxtc
Posts: 4463 Location: Nc5xd7+ スターダストの海洋 |
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Oh sorry, I guess that would help. Um well I am pretty easy I like just about anything just as long as it is good in quality. But lets stay away from yaoi and magical girl type like sailor moon. Genre:all of above
Funny you should mention that, I have been wanting to check out the anime for quite some time now. I have seen the volumes in the store but I figured it wasn't finished since the anime is like 25 or 26 eps. But now I know thanks. [edit: Just looked up planetes and for volume 4 there is a part one and a part two. So really it is like buying 5 volumes, why couldn't they just say volume 4 volume 5. Don't get me wrong it doesn't make much difference, just suggest what ever you consider short  ]
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Mylene
 Posts: 2792 Location: Indiana |
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If you're familiar with the Scrapped Princess anime, I would suggest the manga. It's only 3 volumes long.
However, I really feel it's best to watch the anime first in this case. The manga has a feel of 'sidestories' rather than a full story on it's own. There isn't really a resolution of the story at all, but at the same time, it's not a badending, it's just inconclusive. This probably has a lot to do with both the manga and anime being based on the novels and not wanting to tread the same ground, but that's just a guess on my part. Basically, if you enjoyed the show, you'll probably enjoy the quickie manga as well. --Doing a quick look through the public lists, I see you haven't seen Scrapped. Hmm. Well, if you ever do watch it, consider the manga too. It's a nice add-on. If you're just wanting a good laugh, Azumanga Daioh might be the way to go. You definitely don't need to see the anime first to 'get it'. I'm sure you've heard plenty about the series by being around these forums, but if not, the manga is set up into 4-panel comic strips, most of which are fairly unrelated to the previous strip (although the story does move forward.) It covers the entire 3 years of a group of girls' high school, and relies a lot on random gags that are so simplistic, but at the same time hilarious because you can relate to them. While not quite as funny as the anime (hey, the anime has Hisakawa Aya, of course I'm going to think of it more highly than the manga!), it's still a very fun little romp. Just be careful to read it where you don't mind people hearing you. I had the tendency to laugh out loud rather frequently throughout, and you might too. Other than that, most of the manga I have read is short, but shoujo. And I'm not seeing very many shoujo titles in your seen anime lists (although I am seeing a lot of titles I enjoyed as well, so perhaps we do have similar tastes that might allow you to expand into some more shoujo-like selections). Magic Knight Rayearth (mahou shoujo) is a 6-volume manga by CLAMP. Being CLAMP, the artwork is beautiful. I'm not so fond of the translation by TokyoPop for the first 3 volumes, but the last 3 leave behind a lot of the valley girl slang (perhaps that was Mixx's doing, as it originally came out in Mixxine in the US), and it tells a very interesting story that sort of hinges upon the concept of free will, and whether it is right or wrong to sacrifice one for the sake of all. My personal favorite shoujo manga (thus far) is Revolutionary Girl Utena. There are 5 manga, plus an additional one which was based on the movie Adolescence of Utena. While CLAMP is usually a bit easier to target to males and females alike, Utena might be a slightly harder sell, particularly since the manga is more straightforward and less symbolic than the anime that was created from it, thus being a bit more 'fluff' to an extent. Basically, it's the tale of a girl who dreams of becoming a prince and gets wrapped up into a secretive dueling group at her new school who fight for the possession of the 'Rose Bride'. It focuses a lot on deception, and calls into question what is really good and evil...and is the 'victim' always just a helpless victim. The anime is a bit more intruiging, but I did find the manga to be a very interesting and fun read. But, like I said before, I'm not seeing much in the way of shoujo on your list, so you might want to totally disregard those last two suggestions. ^_- [edit: During the long time it took me to write up my post, you posted again. Magic Knight Rayearth is not your usual mahou shoujo ala Sailor Moon, so if you're willing to check out shoujo, I'd say give it a chance.] |
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Dargonxtc
Posts: 4463 Location: Nc5xd7+ スターダストの海洋 |
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No worries Mylene I am not afraid of Shoujo.
*Scratches head* Man I need to update my list. |
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HitokiriShadow
 Posts: 6251 |
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I can't think of very many manga that short. Most that I would recommend are at least 7-8 volumes.
I recommend Ultra Maniac as a good shoujo manga that clocks in at 5 volumes. Technically, it is a magical girl manga (as it has a girl that uses magic) but it doesn't involve fighting evil or anything like that, so it's nothing like Sailor Moon. It's about a young girl from the Magic Kingdom that comes to study on earth and has to keep her magical powers (which she isn't very good at) a secret. Actually, she's more the the secondary main character. The main character (also the narrator) is a normal middle school girl who discovers the other girl's secret. For comedy, you may want to try Abenobashi: Magical Shopping Arcade. It's really short at only two volumes and is pretty funny. Not as good as the anime it is based on, but still good for a quick laugh. If you've seen the R.O.D. anime, it may be worth checking out the R.O.D. manga. Two of four volumes are currently available. I've just started Anne Freaks (the first volume just came out) and it's pretty interesting. A very serious manga about two young men recruited by a young woman to help kill her father... one she finds after he kills his mother, the other she saves from being killed by the organization her father commands. It's pretty interesting and is only 4 volumes total. If 7-8 volumes is short enough for you, I have some more recommendations. |
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Kagemusha
 Posts: 2783 Location: Boston |
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Well, there are quite a few shorter manga titles out there (I think my top ten list only has 2 titles that are over three volumes long), it just depends on what your taste is. Typically, most of the good short titlesare seinen or josei, and often these are quite diffrent than what your average American manga fan reads, focusing more on more mature/unconventional storytelling. Exactly what titles do you like? I ask so I can get a better sense of what to recommend.
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Dargonxtc
Posts: 4463 Location: Nc5xd7+ スターダストの海洋 |
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Sounds like you like a lot of short manga. I don't mind seinen or josei (non-yaoi). I have to read so many things anyway, that I can pick up a lot different ways and still find them valuable. Just as long as the titles are available in english, and the series is finished. Thanks to all that replied, I think each one(with the exception of Kagemusha) of you suggested at least one that caught my interest. |
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teferi
 Posts: 400 |
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because the japanese release was only 4 volumes.. and tokyopop split it for some reason O_o I'd definitely second planetes... the manga is kidna necessary after having wtached the anime ... theyre pretty different, but just getting a bit more of an ending is nice (even if ai is a lot less involved in the manga story). And I was going to say that just about everything by Masamune Shirow would be good ... excpet it seems like only ghost int he shell and the first volume of appleseed have been released O_o and my fav from him was dominion O_o |
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Kagemusha
Posts: 2783 Location: Boston |
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All four volumes of Appleseed have been released (in the US that is), and next year Darkhorse will be publishing a new edition of all Shirow's titles they have except GitS 1 and 2. But as for recommendations, if your open minded, then I guess I'll go with the ones I think are good examples: Domu(one volume)-From the creator of Akira, this Sci-fi/horror tale is one of the finest examples of the genre in manga. Otomo never goes for conventional horror; while there is some shocking gore, the true meat of the story is in the psychological mindsets of each character and ideas about the nature of innocence and evil. The fact that most of the characters are children (on in the mental states of children) makes the story all the more chilling. Sexy Voice and Robo(one volume)-Beautifully drawn and masterfully told, this collection of stories connected only by the lead characters blend nearly every imaginable genre to create a spellbinding world. The sheer amount of energy contained in the pages is astounding. It should be noted that this is techically two volumes; for the US release Viz combined them into a single graphic novel. Blue Spring-Another collection of shorts, though dramatically diffrent in tone than Sexy Voice. Nihilistic and violent, these stories of the dark side of teenaged boys are from Taiyo Matsumoto, one of the most innovative and creative manga-ka working today. Though not one of his better works (the three volume Black and White is IMO) this is still a good one-shot for anyone bored with typical high-school fluff. I have many more obscure (but great) titles if you don't mind doing a bit of searching for them. |
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Dargonxtc
Posts: 4463 Location: Nc5xd7+ スターダストの海洋 |
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Thanks Kagemusha for repling, had a feeling you would recommend ones I have never heard of. Those first two sound interesting, and I checked online and they shouldn't be too hard to come by.
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rodama
Posts: 12 |
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there is one that comes to mind x-days it is only 2 books long
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Kagemusha
Posts: 2783 Location: Boston |
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Well, Domu was pretty big in its day (was the first manga to win Japan's big Sci-fi award) but has been eclipsed by Otomo's epic Akira. Sexy Voice won a very respectable award (The Media Arts award), but it certainly wouldn't be a mega hit (though I wouldn't call it obscure either). Blue Spring is definitally one of Matsumoto's least known works (it honestly pales in comparison to things like Black and White, Hanaotoko, and Ping Pong), though the stories ran in a very popular seinen anthology. As for more recommendations: Love Roma-Wonderful romantic comedy, maybe the best available in English. While the humor is as wacky as can be (and hilarious), the development of the relationship between the main characters is suprisingly touching and heartfelt. Definitally a change of pace from the titles I recommended before. There are currently 2 volumes out, with a total of 4 (maybe 5). Planetes-I'll second (or is it third) this moving, hard sci-fi saga. The themes of existentialism may get a bit heavy for some, but the deep characters and wonderful storytelling are sure delight those who get lost by Hachimaki's odyssey of self-reflection in volume 3 (personally I think it's the finest part of the series). What truely makes this tale special is the emotional journey of the characters; none of them perfect or even particuarly special, yet by the end of the series they feel like people you've known for your entire life. |
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shamelessfanboy
 Posts: 48 |
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Seconding Kagemusha's choices aside from Domu, which I haven't read yet. Especially Sexy Voice & Robo.
Also, look out for Ohikkoshi, 'cause I believe it's coming out relatively soon. Edit: Wait, I just double-checked. October? Dammit, did they push back the date or am I just getting my wires crossed here? |
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Kagemusha
Posts: 2783 Location: Boston |
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Aww crap. Kind of saw the delay coming though. In any case, I was going mention Ohikkoshi as well, as I have read it (using a translation and matching with the Japanese tank) and it is exellent. Not only is it hilarious (a cut way above the average manga comedy), but it also offers up great characters that actually act like real people. The story about youthful romance really rings true, and the drama is never overdone. Even people who aren't into Blade of the Immortal should pick it up. shamelessfanboy: Definitally give Domu a shot, as I still think it's slightly better than Akira. Plus, it's what inspired Taiyo Matsumoto to draw manga. |
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